Phantom's hope
by Renee3magic
Summary: Danny is tired. The Justice League give him hope, though they wish they had given it to him sooner. Certainly before they crushed it. *Warning trigger character death*
1. Chapter 1

Inspired by similar fanfic

Danny Fenton was tired.

Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally tired.

He was tired of school of teachers and bully's and mountains of homework he just can't get done despite how intelligent he knew he was ( before this he was going to be an astronaut ).

He was tired of fighting and of ghosts and missiles and bullets and being shot at by friends and family alike ( he looks at their eyes full of love one second then hate the next )

He was tired of trying for parents who could turn on him without a second thought ( "When I get my hands on him I'll rip him apart molecule by molecule" ).

He was tired of saving others and them turning their backs on him ( if not as Phantom than at Fenton ).

But he heard something that gave him hope.

"Did you hear? The justice league came to investigate the ghost problem!"

It was his first glimpse of hope in a long time.

Sam was the first to abandon him. She couldn't understand why he wanted to stop, and she wanted him to complete all of his homework on his own despite knowing he didn't even have the time to. ( He got worse grades after that she was the one that made time for him to study. )

Tucker was next. It wasn't even that he was jealous or that he didn't have enough time to hang out anymore ( the ghosts came at all hours, it was hard to even eat or find time to sleep ), he just lost one PDA too many. After Sam left it seemed so much easier for him to. ( He had time to do some work from school now, enough time to study he passes his tests, when he's there to take them. )

His parents had never been there before, not really, and Jazz found out but she just left for college. He barely has time to call her for more than a few minutes per week.

Valery hunts him, Dash bully's him, Palena disgusts him, the popular despise him, the nerds shun him, etc.

It's funny because in one form they praise him in the other they hate him and sometimes they just don't care about either.

Which brings him to today.

His thermos is almost filled with ghosts and he's running fast to catch up to the justice league. Phantom has an attack on sight order, so if they see him transform it's over (they think he's an evil meta human, close but He's not evil ), but he can always show them the ghosts.

They have their arrival set up like a parade, and people are so happy to finally get the help they need, but the joy is slightly dull because none of them ( the league, the world, the government ) actually believe in the ghosts.

But-

( I can make them.

I can show them.

I can make them believe. )

The parades almost over, there's been some ghost attacks but nowhere near the justice league. ( Vlad's behind it he's trying to convince them that the ghost problem isn't one and having me out of the way is part of that. )

But I dealt with all of them and I can catch the end of this.

The news is broadcasting to the entire world as I come crashing through the crowd.

I call out- ( just to check, to make sure I don't have to release all these ghosts )

"Do you believe us?!"

My voice rang clearly across the cheering crowd that grew quiet as their fear was so clearly stated. Everyone turns to the boy holding a thermos. They look, and really look.

They see a boy with unbrushed mussy hair and worn sloppily put on clothes covering bruises barely as parts are cut and shredded and burned from him running straight here but there's so much more as his shoulders stand tall as he looks straight at him defiantly with a defiant glare and just a tiny bit of desperate hope, and as the world holds their breath and the league turns to Superman ( Batman narrows his eyes at the boy knowing somethings not right especially with the thermos it's too high tech) and he says-

"No"

It's simple and concise, yet they see the effect it has on the town reflected even more desperately in the boy.

The town stills and seems to depress, the boys shoulders slump and seems to curl into themselves a mockery of the strong shoulders before.

The town's head fall just a bit and the teen looks as if the world was put on his shoulders.

And their eyes once greeting and kind and oh so helpful look soulless as the boy's are filled with broken hope.

Danny laughs and it's broken and stilted and makes the world cringe as the boy's eyes twist from their previous determination and hope to something absolutely twisted. ( Somewhere far off Vlad hears this and knows he's gone too far this time, elsewhere Batman prepares to fight and others take notice of his tightening muscles and prepare too. )

" Really?" He says and his smile is bitter as fangs peak out ( 'fangs?' They stare in shock ), his eyes his green green eyes ( 'green?!' They think as the justice league realizes that they just made a big mistake ) widen showing cloudy unseeing eyes as he lifts the cap off of his thermos " How about I make you?" It's innocent and full of corroded hope and the league tries to stop him from pushing a button on his thermos ( Batman reacts first, just like always ) but their too late and they jump back from the thermos they watch in disbelief as ghosts rush out wrecking havoc as they do.

"Beware~" one screams

" I am Technus Master-" they hear

" Do you want a cookie?" One asks

" your wish is my-" one whispers

" I'll get your pelt-" one exclaims

And it's just a cacophony of voices until one by one they notice where they are and look really look at Danny Fenton and then the league prepared to fight.

" He's mad" one states in fear and the onlookers look at the silent ghosts in confusion.

" I'm getting out of here! Last time dipstick was this mad he trashed my guitar!" A flaming blue haired girl exclaims and flies away.

" Cmon Johnny let's get out'a here" one drags her boyfriend away as fast as they can.

" I shall collect your pelt another time, I have, a, uh, remote to hunt!" One says in fear as he speeds away.

One by one all the ghosts leave in fear, and the world watches as the crowd backs away from the practically glowing kid examining the not-thermos he held as if contemplating what to do now.

" What is that?" Batman asks still in disbelief.

" A containment device" The teen says as if it's a well-known fact " my parents invented it."

" What does it contain?" He asks, as if he hadn't seen all of the ghosts that were just released and fled in fear at the sight of the teen truly mad.

The teen laughs, that horrible broken laugh that makes others take even more steps back, four rush through the crowd and two aim guns at the boy.

" Things like me." He states as the weapons charge ( he knows they won't fire, even if they hate Phantom they still love him however minor that may be. )

" Get our of our son Ghost!" Jack and Maddie Fenton yell, but the boy ignores them as the crowd comes to a realization ( a wrong one he can't possess himself ) and the league looks at the boy in horror coming to the same conclusion disregarding their false thoughts the boy looks up at the sky and-and screamsand it's horrible and vile and filled with so much pain and sadness and sheer anger, but the parents are held back by his once friends as they yell-

" That is Danny!" With desperate voices filled with regret ( Sam couldn't take being reminded that she killed him, Tucker couldn't watch him destroy himself struggling to keep up )

and Danny asks-

" What happens when you die?" It's plain and cold and his eyes seem so, so dead, and it just seems like it should be raining ( it's not, it's bright and sunny and perfect for the parade this had been ) as the words his best friends said ring in all their ears, as this time they truly do realize.

" I don't know" Batman says and it's tired and old as he relaxes his stance and slowly approaches him as the entire world watches.

" It hurts" the teen says as rings appear around his waist trying to split but being held back. ( When he uses his wail he turns into phantom now )

" I know" Batman states, and the world wonders if he does, "it's okay."

And the rings split up and down revealing the ghost underneath the boy.

The world holds their breath as the ripped hazmat suit reveals his injuries and ripped skin as green and red blood pools around his feet and the boy falls and Batman catches him.

Around the boy crystal grass grows out along with flowers and butterfly's. ( Ghost ice some recognize, others just see the beautiful field as just that a crystal prairie tinted blue ).

" I'm tired" the boy says and the world knows now that the ghosts didn't truly leave because they are here too with even more behind them.

" I know" Batman says, and the boy realizes he truly does.

" I can't protect them anymore" the boy says with tears in his eyes. Slowly Lichtenberg scars trace up his face as his wounds seal into solid skin marred only by the pattens appearing on his skin for the first time in so, so long.

" You don't need to" he says then as the boy looks into his parents eyes filled with denial, his friends eyes filled with despair.

" I can't become human anymore" he whispers, but his voice echos in silence and even the camera's microphones pick it up. And eyes widen in horror as they know something they really shouldn't have had to. ( it wasn't the ghosts that killed him, they don't cut this deep )

" You don't need to" he says even though this time he really wishes the boy did.

" Do you believe us?" The boy asks desperate and shattered, and Superman's heart breaks ( 'if only I said yes' he chokes ).

" Yes, I know you saved them" and oh how that burns the people of Amity park that did this. ( They know it wasn't the ghosts) " You're a hero Danny"

And Danny raises one arm as if to touch the sky.

" I wanted to be an astronaut" he smiles.

And then he's gone.

And they know he isn't coming back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note#**

**I'm sorry if I ruin this entire story, but you guys asked for a continuation and i decided to comply.**

**Updates will be sporadic, but i do have some ideas for this story muahahaha**

* * *

( But Danny always comes back to save them )

When Danny woke it was with a sudden intake of breath and the widening of eyes stretched out painfully.

( He knows it was just a dream but the silence makes him wish it wasn't. )

When the Justice League had come to Amity Park they celebrated, and when they dismissed their concerns and left, it broke their hope it was just ironic that the symbol of hope superman had said the final word. Danny had stood there holding a thermos filled with ghosts, but just as he was about to release them he looked at the weariness in Batman's eyes and the tense super heroes and stopped. He'd smiled and said straight to their faces that their services were no longer needed.

The town had echoed the statement, in unison, until they were driven out.

( everyone watching the news at the time couldn't help but wonder why they listened to this one boy. Danny couldn't help but think that at least some part of the town already knew who he was, and those that didn't saw a familiar thermos in his hand. )

Unlike his dream, nothing of phantom was revealed and he was still so unbearably alive.

But he was also unbearably dead.

The only bright side was that Danny was able to negotiate a peace treaty with the ghosts after it was over. That and with the publicly dismissed threat of ghosts the laws about experimentation were easily repealed by a city wide petition ( a record breaking almost unanimous vote _'molecule by molecule' guess who didn't vote_ ) and Danny Phantom was proclaimed innocent, or rather, _nonexistent_. Even the guys in white were forced to leave as they wasted government money on an apparent hoax.

In retrospect, the peace treaty with the ghosts was a rather simple affair in the aftermath.

Ghosts could come and go as they pleased as long as no one was injured or drained of energy. Amity hadn't had the will to keep fighting after so much, not even Danny. Not even his parents. Not even if every day there's a new building to fix.

( and if soon after the Justice League gained a new ghostly member named Deadman _well_)

Danny just wanted it to be over, Danny had always wanted to be an astronaut.

He never asked to be a hero.

But Danny also didn't want to fully die.

One day Danny's neglectful parents _always_ _so focused on ghosts_ finally looked at him for the first time in years not to scold or ground him, but to ask him if he wanted to leave and stay with his uncle, Bruce Wayne and his four sons. His mother's cousin really, but their fathers were twins and Maddie had briefly stayed with Bruce when she was orphaned not long after Bruce so they considered each other siblings despite having not met up in years. In fact it was unlikely that bruce knew what he even looked like.

Danny agreed, maybe he could finally stop being a hero.

( _one either dies a hero or lives to see oneself a villain_

But Danny died and became a hero, _so can he stop now?_ )

The treaty with the ghosts only applies to Amity Park though, so Danny could be attacked any time after leaving its borders.

( _Why make a treaty for something that doesn't exist? _let it never be said that Amity ever let their crushed hope go unpunished. Some people heard that a 'meta' named Gentlemanly Ghost or something is stealing from museums _Not their problem _others heard that a famous child psychologist named Pamela counseling prisons after getting a degree to counsel adults_ Amity might have a contract with a ghost to stop preying on children prove it _)

Why batman was so caring in his dream was a mystery though.

Danny decides to attribute it to his crushed hopes and child abandonment issues rearing their head, after all no way batman would ever be so caring in real life.

( _In another reality Danny sees this world and ending and wishes to save more. Clockwork picks up the pieces from Batman's arms and gives him a second chance. And if this world was the same clockworks not telling )_


	3. Chapter 3

Bruce Wayne hasn't spoken to his closest relatives in a very long time. So when his cousin Madeline Fenton Née Wayne calls and asks if her only son can stay with him despite having not seen each other for decades since they were children and his public reputation as a playboy with a soft spot for 'charity cases' ( Not that he would ever think of them like that ) just one month after the Amity Park fiasco he is reasonably suspicious. No responsible parent would just leave their child with practically strangers that have bad reputations.

( _when had Maddie ever been a responsible trustworthy parent though? _Danny doesn't know if their 'love' would extend to if he was a ghost_ their attention certainly never extended to his human self _Danny's parents love him and his sister very much_, but they are obsessed with ghosts so so much and to them their kids just aren't ghosts nor interested in hunting them_ )

Especially when a quick background search on the bat computer whilst 'catching up' shows that his nephew is the same kid that not only confronted Superman on world wide television and made Batman's instincts wary, but also practically commanded the town to kick out the Justice league before they could finish investigating and later unofficially negotiated a treaty with the town's local extra dimensional beings that Batman _and thereby the league_ now acknowledge as ghosts due to Zatanna and Deadman _among others_. Batman had never wanted to strangle Superman so much.

( Especially since Batman also suspects he was the main fighting force behind the Ecto Act Laws being repealed which ultimately gave not only Batman but the Justice League and the world leaders a headache when ghosts started coming out of the town and wrecking havoc to the world's dismay, any attempts to contact the town for help was replied to with a big ridiculing smile "Help with what? Ghosts don't exist." _And contact with the previous GIW agents revealed that the destroyed tech couldn't be rebuilt because they were stolen from the local ghost hunters in the first place_ )

Despite knowing that he was probably agreeing to something he would later regret he accepted to care for his nephew, if only because he had been meaning to call Madeline, or rather 'Maddie', in order to negotiate a contract with her company 'FentonWorks' in order to acquire ghost defense systems and refusing would make negotiations awkward knowing that his cousin had refused collaboration with all other companies that asked on the principle that ghosts don't exist.

( Even if the Fentons had refused to sign the petition to repeal the Anti Ecto Acts or acknowledge the Amity Park Treaty they didn't appreciate the league's reaction to their son's question _they also hadn't asked Danny if he was okay afterward though, due to moping about the news, and later, the treat_y )

In fact, the following negotiations to enter contract with Wayne industries to protect their son after he leaves the cities limits was surprisingly easy considering how much they had vehemently refused other companies. Too easy, his eyes narrowed as he tried to detect the reason from her words.

( The Fenton parents have repeatedly proven to be especially gullible to people they consider friends/family. They have also proven that they are stubbornly determined to see the good in them no matter how much they are taken advantage of. _Especially when it comes to their children_ )

Finishing the call with the promise from him to have the legal team speak with them plus a free plane ticket for their son and a promise from them to send multiple ghost shields, weapons, and tech along with their blueprints before their son arrives in one week Bruce stood up from the monitor to head up the elevator to the manor. Alfred, his butler, will need to be informed along with his sons.

Dick Grayson, his eldest son and superhero alias Nightwing, is staying at the manor to help with his other sons, using Zeta beams to go to work and patrol his claimed city Bloodhaven.

( "Get down from the chandelier! For God's sake Dick you're an adult!" "Make me!" )

Jason Todd, his second son current alias Red Hood, had recently decided that he missed Alfred and agreed to be revealed as to have miraculously survived to the public after finding out from Alfred that Batman actually had tried to kill Joker, multiple times, and failed.

( "Old Man! You Goddamned MotherFucking Hypocritical ass-" )

Tim Drake, his third son current alias Red Robin, is managing the Wayne Industries technology R&D after having graduated from school early at the age of 15.

( "When was the last time you slept Tim, and what cup of coffee are you at?" *Sip* "48" "hours?" "Sure" *Sssiiip* " Young maste Tim awoke from his tranquilizer induced sleep 6 hours ago master Bruce )

Damian Wayne, 13 his youngest and only biological son current alias Robin, is about to start his freshman year of Highschool at Gotham academy after summer ends having refused to attend middle school.

( "Father, why must I attend this institution! My education is far more refined than these peasants'." "But you need to learn how to socialize Babybird" "Shut up Grayson!" )

His adopted daughter Casandra Wayne alias Orphan had decided to vacation with Barbara Gordon the chief of police's daughter and alias Batgirl during the summer, but should return before the summer ends.

( *sign language* "I don't care that they stole from your sweets stash! You manipulated your brothers into having a prank war that escalated into sabotaging each other's equipment! If I hadn't noticed someone could have died!" )

Just imagining them reacting to this news is painful enough, but now he actually has to tell them. Luckily enough for Bruce, if you'd call it that, it was actually time for dinner 10 minutes ago so they're all at the dining table waiting for him. Best to get it over with at once.

" How nice of you to join us, Master Bruce" Bruce winces internally at Alfred's tone.

" I was held up by a call from my cousin, Madeline." Everyone's eyes at the table sharpened at that.

" B, I didn't know you had relatives" Dick said in a patronizing tone, his eyes though were narrowed with suspicion.

" I concur, I was not informed of any other relatives by moth- anyone" Damian followed up but corrected himself in the sentence, his mother had been a sore topic for awhile and his grandfather a forbidden one. His eyes were narrowed but held some insecurities from another perceived lie.

" Yeah Old Man, who's the woman?" Jason had straightened from his previous position of leaning on the table, and Tim was silent but had temporarily lowered his tablet.

" Miss Madeline is Master Bruce's cousin on his uncle's side they briefly met as children and I do believe she lives in Amity Park with her husband and children. They have not been in contact since they were young though." Alfred informed them.

" Which begs the question of what they want now, right?" Dick asked and Bruce nodded.

" Madeline wanted to ask if her son could stay with me for a period of time, I agreed." Chaos was the best description to what next transpired as they angrily shouted.

" But Father-"

" Fuc-"

" eed more coffe-"

" New baby broth-"

" Quiet" Bruce ordered with a glare.

" Why'd you agree!" Jason yelled in the resulting quiet, never one to be ordered especially by him.

" You are all aware of the recent rise in ghost attacks due to the failed investigation of Amity Park, correct?"

" Yeah, what's that got to do with her?" Jason continued suspiciously.

" Nothing, except she's one of the only two experts in ghostly defense technology."

" Who's the other"

" Her husband"

" Shit" no other competitor means monopoly and Jason knows that Bruce would agree to a lot in order to gain that defense technology, that the 'a lot' comes in the form of a civilian kid when Bruce has weak spots towards children escapes no ones notice at the table. " Is it a trap?"

" Unknown, but after I agreed to take in their son they agreed to practically giving away their inventions and blueprints. They had previously refused all contracts regarding their technology with spite, that they gave them up so easily is weird in consideration."

" Did they say why they were throwing their son out?" Jason asked.

" Jason!" Dick reproached.

" What, it's true."

" They said he was having a tough time at school; however, their son Daniel Fenton was the one who kicked the league out of town." Eyes widened as they took in that information.

" Hold on, your nephew was the one who was holding the high tech device practically as a threat and convinced the town to make the Justice League leave!" Dick exclaimed.

" Yes, the 'high tech device' as you put it was much much later" as in ten minutes ago" confirmed to be a containment device for ghosts. Presumably, he had meant to release a ghost he caught personally judging by the state of his clothes to prove their existence, but something in him had stopped him from releasing it."

" Wait, he debated releasing a threat in the middle of a crowd!" Dick shouted.

" Obviously it couldn't have been that strong if it was captured by that coward Grayson" Damian scoffed.

( Elsewhere Danny sneezed as he was contemplating how much the destruction had toned down since the treaty. Only one or two buildings per day get destroyed! It used to be a building or two per ghost! Hopefully it's not a cold or a new power coming in )

" Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh old man. Probably thought he'd be saving them by revealing their existence, dumbass couldn't even go through with it" Jason laughed capitalizing on the fact that the kid's mother was a Wayne to insult Bruce.

( Another reality Danny sneezed. There are 32 ghosts in his thermos, that's somewhere in between another 32-64 buildings total. To release or not to release, eh won't be his problem if the justice league's in charge of getting them back )

" I definitely need more coffee for this." Tim looked down at the table to find his empty cup.

Meanwhile, Bruce sat down at his seat and started eating realizing his food was getting colder by the minute. It had been dinner when he interrupted after all.

" No matter how weak the ghost he caught was, it doesn't change the fact that he almost released it" Bruce continued, " While he stays here, we need to figure out what his goals are and if we have to stop them. We also need to figure out if he knows what happened to the town's previous hero Phantom."

" The one that hasn't been sighted since before the parade, would he know where he disappeared to?" Dick asked.

" The containment device that he used was too similar to Phantom's to be a coincidence. While talking to Madeline I discovered that Phantom apparently stole their inventions all the time, however I find it unlikely that a ghost managed to sneak into their lab often enough to take their equipment, let alone know how to use it. I suspect Daniel smuggled equipment to Phantom in return for the town's protection."

( In the Fenton's lab/basement a ghost party was currently occurring celebrating the news of Phantom 'retiring' and Danny taking notice threatened to leave them in the thermos until he left if they didn't break it up. Upstairs Jack obliviously ate fudge while Maddie cooked dinner-Illinois is in a different time zone after all- hotdogs were on the menu tonight and Danny had already prepped the guns to kill them with for when they mutate. )

" Is there a chance he is Phantom?" Tim asked looking up from the empty cup he'd been glaring at.

" No, I found surveillance footage of him and two other teens helping out Phantom to support my helpers theory. In fact, I think someone did something to Phantom the day of the Parade and it left Fenton desperate enough to almost open the device. I think there was someone behind the justice league not finding anything wrong with the town that day."

( Vlad Masters looked up from the papers he was working on and narrowed his eyes. "Someone is trying to uncover one of my schemes. I thought Daniel was taking a break, I must hurry to finish these before he leaves muahahaha!" )

_" _But if he was helping Phantom protect the town, doesn't that mean he's good?_" _Dick piped up.

_" _No, if anything it makes him look more suspicious. Even with Phantom missing, he managed to negotiate a treaty between Amity and the ghosts and decided to leave town immediately afterwards to stay with his billionaire uncle who has a penchant for adopting black-haired blue-eyed teens and is secretly batman" Jason stated.

" Well, we must prepare for young master Daniel's arrival then" Alfred spoke up and all eyes focused on Bruce's reply.

" Yes, he must not find out about our secret until we know what he wants. This will be difficult, he'll be here for at least a year if he doesn't reveal his intentions immediately."

" Bruce you couldn't keep the secret for a few weeks from me when I was nine" Dick replied in disbelief.

" Irrelevant"


End file.
